Judiciary & Public Safety Committee

May 9, 2006 - 9:30 am

DRAFT MINUTES

 

Present:                      John Daniels, Chairman; Tom Williams, Vice Chairman; Sean Clark, Danny Ross, Don Spaulding

                                 

Others present:         Marilyn Brown, Chairman of the Legislature; Scott Schrader, County Administrator; Richard Van Donsel, County Attorney; Sandy Price, Legislator; Katrina Spicer, Secretary to County Administration; Jane Goldner, Probation and Alternative to Incarceration; Lee Price, Cortland County Sheriff; Bob Duell, Director of Fire & Emergency Management; Carl Moses, Director of Weights & Measures; Nick Wagner, 911 Center; Dave Tanner, 911 Center; Capt. Ray Lewis, Jail, Cortland County Sheriff’s Department; Rob Corpora, Information Technology; Eric Mulvihill, WXHC; Jeremy Boylan, Cortland Standard; Jim Mulhern, Bovis

 

Absent:                       Larry Cornell, Ron VanDee

 

Mr. Daniels called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m.

 

Mr. Clark moved adoption of the minutes of the April 4, 2006 meeting; seconded by Mr. Spaulding.  All members present voting in favor; none opposed; minutes approved as printed.

 

RESOLUTIONS

 

Fire & Emergency Management

 

1.         Accept Grant (Division of Criminal Justice Services-WMD Grant FY’05 – Mr. Williams moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Spaulding.  Mr. Duell explained that this is 2005 grant funding received and he added that the money is not received until we are ready to spend it for a dedicated project.  All members present voting in favor; none opposed; resolution approved.

 

2.         Authorize Agreement State of New York FFY 2006 LEMPG – Mr. Spaulding moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Clark.  Mr. Duell explained that this is an annual grant for several years.  All members present voting in favor; none opposed; resolution approved.

 

3.         Appoint Member – Jury Board – Mr. Ross moved adoption; seconded by Mr. Williams.  Mr. Daniels inquired about what exactly a member of a Jury Board does.  Mr. Duell explained that members work with the Commissioner of Jurors and assists in assuring that jurors are accommodated properly.  He also explained that they meet a few times a year.  Mr. Williams asked that the phrase “expires on” be inserted into the resolution.  All members present voting in favor; none opposed; resolution approved.

DISCUSSION/COMMITTEE ACTION:

 

1.         K-9 update – Mr. Price explained to the committee that the County had ended up purchasing a one-year old K-9 from a training facility in Pennsylvania with thanks to Mr. Schrader for his assistance.  He further explained that Officer Parente will be attending the training and will be working with the K-9.  Committee members inquired about naming the dog and Mr. Price explained that when the dog completes training they would take it around to area schools and the students assist in naming the dog. 

 

Mr. Price further added that yesterday afternoon he received notification of a $3,680 grant to be used for Traffic Safety in the Tompkins Street and Rt. 281 Corridor.  He further added that this would be starting a two-part program.  Mr. Price explained that he had just received notification of this and is still obtaining further information.  Mr. Price inquired about a resolution regarding accepting this funding and possibly sending one through before the Budget & Finance Committee.  No committee members objected.      

 

2.         CAD update – Mr. Wagner distributed and discussed Communications Division – Progress report on New World Systems and Call Volumes Comparison – see attachment.  Mr. Wagner further discussed problem areas with the New World Software and that he and Mr. Corpora are working with New World to find a solution and he further discussed that this is a major software enhancement.  Mr. Wagner explained that this involves more time and training.  He further explained that the number of incidents/calls that have been received have increased over the past years and only a couple of dispatchers have been added.  He further discussed that shift supervisors have been taking calls and are not available to generate quality assurance checks.  He further discussed that this is not at the fault of the system or of the dispatchers.  Mr. Wagner further stated that they are just forced to do more, more rapidly.   

 

3.                  Jail Population Update – Mr. Lewis updated the committee and explained the jail population situation.  He distributed and discussed a Cortland County Jail Inmate Housing Chart.  Mr. Lewis explained the situation at the jail and further added that the big concern is weekends.  Mr. Schrader addressed his concerns about inmates being held in the jail for over 80 days and still have not been sentenced and that felony convictions should be in a state facility.  Mr. Lewis explained that it is taking longer to adjudicate cases and that when they send inmates out to be housed it costs about $80 to $90 per day not including any transportation costs.  He added that on average 14 to 16 hours per day is spent in transporting inmates.  Mr. Schrader further addressed concerns he has with “weekenders” and asked about electronic home monitoring.  Ms. Goldner explained that there are certain factors involved in electronic home monitoring and the first being a willingness to participate on the part of the individual being sentenced.  She added that there are other factors involved including a stable home and they are required to have a regular phone system and not a cell phone.  Ms. Goldner explained that her department has spoken to judges regarding using the electronic home monitoring more.  Mr. Price discussed the judges being interested in using it.  Mr. Lewis discussed the possibility of informing the judges of what is available.  Mr. Price explained the need to keep cells open heading into the weekends.

 

4.         Department Head Forum – Mr. Daniels opened the meeting for any Department Heads to address the committee. 

            Fire & Emergency Management – Mr. Duell addressed the committee and informed them that 100% of the municipalities are participating in NIMS and the municipalities have adopted that 89% of the official documentation.  Additionally, he informed the committee that schools might be required to be part of NIMS in the future. 

 

Mr. Schrader discussed the relocation of the Communications Center to the third floor of the Public Safety Building and in the process of relocating the Operations Center to the County Office Building so that in case of a major disaster all departments are present.  He additionally explained that this would require replacement of a generator and the swapping of another generator to adequately supply the areas in need in case of a disaster.  Additionally, Mr. Schrader discussed that the Towers are T-1 compliant and further discussed the Towers and UHF paging.  Mr. Schrader explained that there have been great strides in the past two years on the Towers.        

Mr. Spaulding made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Williams.  The meeting adjourned at 10:12 a.m.